Means for controlling wells



A. S. BAYLOR MEANS FOR CONTROLLING WELLS Jan. 5, 1943;

2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed July 22, 1939 yaw A TTQRNEYS.

1943- A. s. BAYLOR V MEANS FOR CONTROLLING WELLS ZV'SheetS-Sheet 2 FiledJuly 22, 1939 III III- AJBAQX/OIQ EZTORI IN I & BY 6 ATTORNEYS.

Patented Jan. 5, 1943 MEANS roa oomommc WELLS Albert '8. Baylor,Houston, Tex, assignor to Brown Oil Tools, Inc., a corporationApplication ,luly 22, 1939, Serial No. 285,885

3 Claims. (61. 166-1) My invention relates to means for introducingpressure fluid into the well to shut off the escape of fluid underpressure fromthe producing formation.

It sometimes becomes necessary after a well has been equipped'forflowing to later kill the well so that the tubing or other equipment maybe removed without danger of blowout.

After the tubing or flow string has once been suspended in the. casinghead and sealed off so that fluid cannot escape between the upper end ofthe casing and the tubing it is practically impossible without specialcostly equipment to move the tubing from its position. When therefore itbecomes necessary to introduce mud into the casing it can not be forcedpast the packer which is normally upon the tubing into the lower end ofthe well. y,

It is an object of the invention to "provide a simple and economicalequipment for use upon a flow string or tubing which makes it'possibleto introduce fluid into the tubing from within the casing string at anydesirable time when it becomes necessary to force the mud into the lowerend of the well and cut'oif the escape of the gas under pressure fromthe bottom of the well.

I desire to be able to introduce mud into the lower end of the wellwithout the necessity of moving the tubing and by the use of means whichmay be easily and quickly handled.

My invention lies particularly in the simple and economical equipmentwhich I provide for handling the introduction of the mud into the wellwhich will be more clearly understood when taken in connection with thedrawings herewith.

In the drawings Fig. l is a side view of the well casing with the tubingequipment therein and .in which the portions of the casing and tubingare in central longitudinal section. I

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional detail showing the structure of mysleeve valve.

Fig. 3 is a side view of the apparatus partly in section andillustrating the use of the lubricator on the upper end of the flowstring.

Figs. 4 and 5 show a broken longitudinal section through a portion ofthe tubing string illustrating one means of opening the valve andtubing.

Fig. 6 is a longitudinal section through the tubing and illustrating thestructure of my valve opening means. v

Fig. '1 is a perspective view showing the valveopening device removedfrom the tubing.

My invention is applied particularly to a well having a well casing ltherein and which may, if desired, be perforated at the lower end. Saidcasing has at its upper end a casing head 2 or therein, one portindicated at 3 as being closed by a bull plug, the opposite port 4 beingequipped with a valve 5. It is understood that fluid may be introducedinto or allowed to flow from the casing to either one of these lateralports.

The upper end of the casing head furnishes a support for an inner tubingor flow line 6. The upper end of the casing head is closed and sealedabout by means of a plate or cap I, which is understood as being boltedto a flange upon the casing head in the usual manner. The flow line isconnected into the cap 1 by threaded connection or otherwise and abovethe cap is a master valve 8 which may be closed to obstruct therside.and a valve controlled fitting opposite side. The upper end of thecross fltting 9 .is threaded to engage with other equipment securedthereto. In Fig. 3 I have shown a lubricator barrel I! connectedtherein, said lubricator barrel being adapted to receive a.tool l3connected by a jar M to a wire line IS. A series of stufling boxes l6may be employed to close between the upper end of the lubricator barreland the wire line l5.

With reference particularly to Fig. 1, the flow line 6 is shown ashaving adjacent its lower end a packer including an expansible sleeve llmounted upon a tubular body l8 and supported at its lower end upon acollar 19 at the upper end of an' anchor member 20. It will beunderstood that the anchor 20 is of ordinary construction. It isequipped with a plurality of slips 2| resting upon an upwardly flaringseat 22 and supported upon arms 23 connected withthe lower collar 24.These slips are held'from upward movement on the tapered surface 22 bymeans of a pin and jay slot connection shown at 25. When this packer isset it serves to seal the space between the flow line and the casing ata. point spaced somewhat above the lower intake end of the flow line.

When the head 26 on the flow line is seated at the upper end 21 of thepacker member the passage from the casing to the tubing above the packeris entirely closed off and can not be opened without the movement of thetubing which is to be avoided after it is once set particularly wherethe well is under pressure.

In order to be able to open up a passage from the space 28 between thetubing and the casing I provide a nipple or barrel 29 secured in theflow line and forming a part thereof. This nipple has a plurality ofopenings 30 therein so that a flow of fluid through the wall of thetubing may be possible. These openings; however, are norordinaryconstruction having lateral ports mally closed'by means of a sleeve 3|which acts ll on the as a valve to close the openings. 33. Thisconstruction is best shown in Fig. 2. The sleeveJl which forms the valveis held in position to close the opening 33 by means of one ormore-frangible pins 32. There may be rings of packing material 33 onthevalve sleeve 3| to provide a seal against the passage oi. fluid from thetubing to the casing space. At the lower end of the sleeve 3| are aplurality of downwardly projecting legs 34 which, when the valve ismoved downwardly from its closed position will engage upon -a shoulder35 at the lower end of the nipple. It will be noted that the interiorpassage through the nipple is recessed outwardly above the shoulder 36so that when the sleeve is dropped downwardly from closed position asindicated in Fig. there will be a passage or fluid around the valvesleeve and between the supporting legs 34 so that fluid may bypass thevalve.

In order to open this valve and allow passage of fluid from the casingto the tubing it is necessary to exert pressure upon the upper end ofthe valve sleeve 3|. This may be done by means of a weighted head 36which is shown best in Figs. '6 and 7. The head is provided with aplurality of radially extending shoulders 31 beneath the lower end orwhich are engaged dogs 38. The lower ends of said dogs are formed withprojections 39, said projections engaging within recesses 43 in thelower end of the head, said recesses being wide enough to allow the dogsto move outwardly a predetermined distance. Said dogs are held normallyin outwardly projecting position by means of the springs 4| secured attheir upper ends at 42 to the head, the lower ends being extendedoutwardly to bear against the inner faces of the dogs.

As seen in Figs. 1 and 3, the head 36 is preferably connected to thelower member 43 or a jar of common construction. Said jar includes twolinks coupled together and adapted to move relative to each other, theupper link 44 being connected to the cable l5. It will be seen that whenthe upper link 44 is dropped against the lower link 43 a blow may bestruck which will urge the head 36 downwardly.

When it is desired to use this typ of valve releasing means thelubricator barrel I! will be secured above the cross 9 and with thestufiing box l6 removed the jar and the head may be introduced into andhouse within the lubricator barrel. The stuiilng boxes l6 will then befitted around the wire line l5 to provide a sliding and sealing fitaround the wire line. The valve 6 may then be opened and the head 36dropped downwardly until it engages the upper end of the valve sleeve3|, as seen in Fig. 1. If the engagement does not shear the pins 32 thejar may be employed to strike a series of blows upon the head 36 andthus shear the pins and move the valve sleeve 3| down to open position.

The weighted head 36 may be then withdrawn if desired and the valve 6closed. With the openings 30 from the casing to the tubing thus beingexposed heavy fluid may be pumped inwardly through the opening 4 in thecasing and circulated downwardly through the casing and the passages 30and into the tubing. It may be desirable to allow the pressure fluid inthe well to become stabilized and to fill the casing space and tubinguniformly before pressure is exerted upon the fluid in the well throughpumps connected with the inlet 4 to the casing. In this manner the mudmay be caused to circulate of the well and pressure exerted thereonsumciently to kill the well. When this has been done the equipment atthe upper end of the well may be removed without danger.

While I have shown the use of a weighted head 36 to open the valve 3| Ihave shown in Figs. 4 and 5 another device by means or which this sleevemay be moved to open position. This involves the dropping from thelubricator |2 past the valve 3 oi. a ball 46 which will strike upon theupper end oi. the valve sleeve and tend to' shear the pin 32, However,it the pin is not thus sheared pump pressure may be exerted later on toshear the pins and open the valve.

By the use or the tubing valve which has been described it will bepossible to handle the tubing in the usual manner in setting and flowingthe well, but it occasion arises where it is necessary to pump fluidfrom the casing through the tubing into the lower end of the well thismay be later accomplished in the manner described. It will be seentherefore that without danger to the well fluid may be pumped into thecasing so that a blowout will be prevented or the well will be preventedfrom flowing while removal of the safety equipment at the upper end ofthe well may be accomplished. The advantages or this construction willbe obvious to those skilled in the art.

What I claim is:

1.. In a well equipment including a well tubing, means to support saidtubing and seal the upper end of the well and a packer on said tubingsealing with the wall of said well, the

downwardly through the tubing to the lower end combination of a nipplesecured in said tubing above said packer, said nipple having openingstherein, a sleeve in said nipple normally closing said openings; meansto retain said sleeve in position closing said openings, said meansbeing releasable by pressure thereon to allow said sleeve to movedownwardly and expose said openings, said tube being of increased innerdiameter to form a chamber below said openings and means to support saidsleeve in said chamber to allow a bypass of fluid past said sleeve.

2. In a well equipment including a well tubing, means to support saidtubing and seal the upper end of the well and a packer on said tubingsealing with the wall of said well, the combination of a nipple securedin said tubing above said packer,

an opening in the wall of said nipple, a valve closing said opening,means movable downwardly in said tubing from the upper end thereof toengage and open said valve and allow passage of fluid into said tubingthrough said openings, means to support said valve below said openingand a bypass around said valve in its open position.

3. In combination with a well casing, a tubing suspended in said casing,means to seal the upper end oi. said casing with said tubing, a nipplein said tubing spaced above the lower end thereof,

a packer below said nipple on said tubing, a sleeve in said nipple,means to retain said sleeve in position closing lateral openings in saidnipple, releasing means adapted to be introduced into the upper end ofsaid tubing and moved downwardly to engage and strike a blow upon saidsleeve to move said sleeve downwardly to open position, means to conductfluid under pressure into said casing to said lateralopenings, and meansto withdraw said releasing means from said tubing.r

. ALBERT S. BAYLOR.

